Q: What do Jackson Hole, Enfamil, and a crack house have in common?

A: They all love their white powder.

I was genuinely puzzled the day this joke landed. We were up in the mountains with friends, getting ready to head home after a trip. Everyone was gathered around the RV dump station—glamorous, I know—when I realized I was out of baby formula.

Luckily, my friend’s youngest was also still on formula. Without missing a beat, she dashed to her vehicle and came back with a little zipper-locked bag filled with white powder. Handing it to me with a smirk, she said, “I promise, it isn’t what it looks like.”

I blinked at her, confused. My brain flipped through the files like a tired librarian. Blank. “Huh?” I asked.

She gave me a look. “Well, white powder… in a little bag…” Then, tilting her chin down just a little and locking eyes with me, she clarified: “Drugs…”

She really expected the lightbulb to go off right then. I gave her a delayed chuckle. “Oh! I NEVER would have thought of that.”

Now, just for the record—my friend does not do drugs. In fact, she’s been deeply involved in helping children born to parents who struggle with addiction. She works hard not to let what she sees every day weigh her down.

That moment stuck with me—not just because I was slow on the uptake, but because it reminded me how much our experiences shape the way we see the world. What we’ve lived, watched, listened to, and surrounded ourselves with becomes the lens through which we interpret everything.

There was a time when a bag of white powder would have meant laundry soap to me. These days, with a baby in the house, it means formula. Someday, once I finally fall in love with cooking, I’m sure it’ll mean confectioner’s sugar.

It’s the same old idea, really: “Garbage in, garbage out.” Not the most cheerful phrase, but it’s true. Maybe a better spin is, “Virtue in, virtue out.” Not quite as catchy, perhaps, but far more hopeful.

We have to feed our minds with the kind of thoughts, images, and messages that reflect the life we want to live.

I’ve heard people—especially teens—say, “What I watch doesn’t affect me.” But I love proving that wrong in under five minutes during my seminars. I split the group in two: one sees images of fresh fruit, the other sees gritty scenes—dark alleys, weapons, jail.

Then I show both groups this word: R__P_E.

I ask them to write down the first word that comes to mind. Almost everyone from the fruit group writes RIPE. The other group is usually split between ROPE and RAPE.

That’s how powerful our input is.

So what do we do when our past or current environment fills our minds with negativity or fear? We fight it. With uplifting, positive input. And we do it more often and more intensely than the negative.

Over time—sometimes a long time—those dark thoughts start to shrink. They’re still in there somewhere, but they stop running the show.

I learned this firsthand. After two years in a toxic environment that was pulling my thoughts downward, I committed to flooding my mind with inspiring input: books, music, movies—nearly around the clock. It took about a year before the heaviness really lifted.

And if you’re thinking, “I can’t wait a year for change,” don’t worry. You’ll start to feel better much sooner. The fight just might continue for a while. But it’s worth it. I was so desperate to be free from the negative effects that I didn’t care how long it took. I was all in.

What’s interesting is that at first, I didn’t even change the environment. I just fought the effects. But eventually, I grew tired of the fight and realized: the environment itself had to change. And by then, I had the strength—and the clarity—to do it. All that uplifting input taught me how.

I learned things I didn’t even know I didn’t know.

So yes, it takes time. It’s not easy. But it is possible. And it’s your choice. What you feed your mind matters—maybe more than anything.

“Virtue in, virtue out.” It all starts in our minds. You may not be able to delete the old files, but you absolutely can decide what you add from this moment on.

It’s why I do what I do. Thanks for stopping by. 😉

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